Lentil – a promising new crop for Finland

Abstract

Finnish agriculture is based on cereal cultivation and nearly half of the total utilized agricultural area (2 295 thousand ha) is used for cultivating barley, oat, wheat, and rye. In contrast, less than 1% is used for cultivating grain legumes, mainly pea and faba bean for feed purposes. As a result, Finland has a major dependence on inorganic fertilizers and imported vegetable protein. The Nordic region has many consumers that need gluten-free products and vegetable protein, so there is a potential demand for locally grown food legumes such as lentil. After a promising preliminary trial in 2009, 13 lentil cultivars were screened in Helsinki in 2010, 12 from the Crop Development Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Canada, and one from the University of Göttingen, Germany. Six of these cultivars were selected and screened again in 2011. The experiment was laid out as a randomized complete block trial with four replicates in all years; data on radiation interception, flowering and maturity were collected during the growing season. Growing degree-days (GDD) were calculated using a 5°C base temperature. The 2010 growing season was exceptionally warm and most cultivars performed well, except Sovereign and Sedley that lodged and matured late. There were significant differences in earliness (P<0.001), the earliest cultivar being Rosetown (902 GDD to maturity), and the latest Sedley (1214 GDD). There were no significant differences in yield (P=0.111), the average being 1.49 t/ha. Cultivar Meteor was the highest yielding with 1.86 t/ha but it lodged, whereas cvs Redbow, Redcoat, Rosetown and Milestone yielded 1.5-1.6 t/ha and showed few problems in cultivation, so further experiments have included them. The 2011 growing season was warm enough and allowed all cultivars to mature by the middle of August, most before Kontu faba bean. There were significant differences in earliness (P<0.001), the earliest cultivar being Rosebud, and the latest Redberry. According to FAOSTAT in 2008, Finland imported only 98 t of lentil, or 18 t/million inhabitants, whereas other European countries imported considerably more, ranging from 157 t/million in Sweden to 1050 t/million in Spain. Thus there is clear potential for growth in the market for Finnish-grown lentils. When the results from the 2011 trials are compiled, we expect to be able to recommend appropriate cultivars to farmers in time for the 2012 growing season.